NEWS FROM POWER TO DECIDE
Freedom to Decide Campaign Supports Women
Power to Decide teamed up with the Pill Club on its Power to Decide campaign to offer free emergency contraception to 5,000 women and to raise funds for our contraceptive access fund, BCBenefits. Pill Club matched up to $10,000 in donations. The Freedom to Decide campaign was featured in Bustle, Elite Daily, TechCrunch, and NBC Now, among other outlets. You too can help remove the barriers a woman faces in accessing the birth control method right for her so that she can live life on her own terms by donating today.
One Key Question® Recognized as a Best Practice by AMCHP
One Key Question®, a program of Power to Decide, has been added to the Association for Maternal and Child Health Programs’ (AMCHP) Innovation Station database as a best practice. The Innovation Station database categorizes programs at different levels, including cutting edge, emerging practice, promising practice, and best practice. Learn more about One Key Question® in Innovation Station database here.
TLC Partners with Power to Decide for the 3rd season of hit Series "Unexpected"
TLC’s hit series "Unexpected" returned for a third season on Sunday, August 4, and will air new episodes on Sundays at 10pm ET/PT. The unscripted series follows several teenage couples’ journeys through parenthood and the responsibilities that fall on each family as they face the joys and challenges involved in raising multiple generations at once --sometimes under the same roof. As the teens navigate proms, baby showers, and the delivery room, their families help guide them through relationships and into parenthood.
We’re proud to work in partnership with TLC to help viewers use "Unexpected" to spark meaningful conversations about unplanned pregnancies. Based on themes covered in the show, we’re creating discussion-starters, information, and tips for young people and their parents, mentors, and allies to jump-start open conversations and ensure all young people have the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child. These resources will be available for viewers at TLCme.com/FamilyResources.
Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #Unexpected, ‘Like’ the show on Facebook, and watch full episodes by downloading the TLC Go app or visiting: TLC.com/Unexpected.
Innovation Next Share Their Ideas
After months of design work, the third cohort of Innovation Next teams recently shared their unique ideas of how to use technology to help young people avoid unintended pregnancy. Teams offered up their concepts at PitchFest: Design for Sexual Health before a team of judges, including professionals from the fields of public health and design and youth themselves.
The winning team pitched an interactive web comic in which “Luna”, a young teen living in the South, finishes the last week of high school while also experiencing struggles and challenges in her relationship. The judges were particularly impressed by the team’s real-world user testing on Instagram. Congratulations to Luna’s Last Week and to all the Cohort 3 teams on their hard work! If you or your organization is interested in learning how you can develop innovative products and services that truly meet human needs, contact us today.
Bedsider Launches the Summer of Self-Love
Self-love looks different for everyone; for some makeover hacks, a glass of wine or an extra-long phone call to a long-distance friend does the trick. But what about birth control? We believe that everyone deserves access to the method of birth control that works best for them. As our lives change so too may our method. Go on a birth control journey this summer to find the method that works best for you right now. Or tell us why you shout, “Thanks, Birth Control!”
POLICY UPDATES
The Title X “domestic gag rule” has been put into effect, impacting millions of women’s access to quality sexual and reproductive health care. In July, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Title X domestic gag rule can take effect. As a result, a number of organizations have withdrawn from the Title X program, citing the withholding of information from their patients as medically unethical. This means these organizations have to rely on other funds while the legal challenges continue to make their way through the courts. For more information, please visit the Title X page in our Federal Policy Action Center.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted on a bipartisan basis to advance HR 2328. The bill level-funds the evidence-based Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) at $75 million annually, through FY 2023. The next step is for the full House to consider the legislation when they return from recess in September. If the bill in its current form becomes law, the four-year extension will provide states, tribes, and communities with greater certainty to plan and serve young people without disruption. For more background, please visit the PREP page in our Federal Policy Action Center.
POWER UPDATES
Click here to see the top publications and articles on sexual health published in the last month.
An article co-authored by our Senior Science Officer, Colleen Crittenden Murray, MPH, DPH, focuses on student and teacher comfort with delivering and receiving sexual health education in a middle school setting. This paper details three of the key barriers identified by students and teachers as disruptive behavior, insufficient time, and lack of dedicated classrooms.
GENEROUS SUPPORT FOR OUR WORK
We are excited to share that we have received a generous grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to launch a place-based reproductive well-being learning collaborative. This funding will allow Power to Decide to work with ten regional teams to implement evidence-informed, systems-level interventions that support reproductive well-being in their communities.
We are grateful for Pill Club’s $10,000 match donation to support BCBenefits as a part of the Freedom to Decide campaign.
We would also like to extend our gratitude to Mr. Willard B. Brown, Jr. for his generous donation to our work.
Join others dedicated to ensuring all young people have the power to decide their futures by making a donation today.
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